Book: All Woman and Springtime by Brandon W. Jones
Reviewed by: Jessica
All Woman and Springtime is a story with immense depth and heart that follows two young friends through the ragged frays of childhood into a violent and tragic young adulthood of prostitution, abuse and drug addiction. This story will sink its teeth into your soul and not let go. It is a gripping masterpiece of literature that will haunt me for a long time to come. Be prepared for a powerful read.
The story of All Woman and Springtime focuses on Gyong-Ho and Il-Sun, two young girls growing up in a turbulent North Korea. Enduring orphanage and factory life together, they form a unique bond. The mysterious, quiet and ever diligent Gyong-Ho is racked by troubling thoughts of a tormented past and uses mathematics to get through her pain. Il-Sun is the elusive beauty whose tendencies of individualism set her dangerously apart in a conformist society. Beaten down by the government and society’s control over her, Il-Sun jumps at the offer of escaping North Korea with a handsome suitor. Tricked, Gyong-Ho, Il-Sun and a young prostitute Cho-who eventually becomes good friends of the two girls- are sold into prostitution in South Korea. Already weakened by the North Korean government’s fear propaganda, the young women are easily led and locked into a brothel where their livelihood is based on their sexual success. Spanning from North Korea all the way to America, the story of All Woman and Springtime leads the reader on a journey of heart wrenching vulnerability and eye opening disbelief as the young women struggle to uphold their lives and sanity in the face of corruption and greed.
All Woman and Springtime is a poignant reminder of a serious issue that continues to plague the streets of cities worldwide. Although fiction, it is a raw and unsettling account of true-to-life underground movements of human sex trafficking and a story of brilliant perseverance through the darkest of places. Any reader interested in finding a book that has a resounding heartbeat needs to pick up this book. It will not let you go.
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